Bad night turns worse for man

CLARENDON HILLS — A Clarendon Hills man returned from a bird-watching vacation Sunday to find his front door open, his house ransacked and his car stolen.

But it wasn't until he called police that 64-year-old Leif Erickson's night truly went bad.

Concerned the burglar might still be in his Harris Avenue home, the former Hinsdale Central High School teacher let officers search the house first. A detective said the officers found not only evidence of a burglary but also stacks of child pornography.

Erickson was arrested after police obtained a search warrant and re-entered the house. Erickson was charged with having child pornography and was taken to the DuPage County jail.